State lawmakers have named pop star Phil Collins an honorary Texan, saluting his donation of hundreds of Alamo artifacts back to the historic outpost – while offering numerous quips referencing his song lyrics. ...Last year, he gave 200-plus pieces of his collection to the Alamo. Collins grinned as many lawmakers took to the floor to joke about “feeling it in the air tonight,” ‘‘one more night” and Texas having a “groovy kind of love” for its newest honorary citizen.

The Texas General Land Office is terminating its contract with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to run the Alamo, ending a role the DRT has held for 110 years in managing the state-owned site, the Express-News has learned. In a joint statement with the DRT, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said the change will help “create a bigger, brighter future for this Texas shrine.” The contract, which runs through Aug. 31, 2016, will be terminated after 120 days, on July 10. “The Alamo has always had the same owner — the people of Texas. And so to...

LOS ANGELES — Backstage on Friday night at CBS Studio Center, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro was about 30 minutes from appearing live on the edgy HBO comedy show “Real Time with Bill Maher.” He was cramming for his spot on the show’s panel, reviewing topics with Scott Carter, the show’s executive producer. Castro should expect to talk about the Koch brothers, Mitt Romney, Saudi Arabia. Carter peppered the congressman with questions. Castro, 40, offered one-sentence answers. “Do not feel like you have to be concise for us,” Carter said. “If anything, be expansive.” Another topic Maher might cover: The Iowa...

SAN ANTONIO — While the Northeast battles winter storm "Juno," the San Antonio area will see much warmer temperatures than normal for January this week and could set a record high, according to NWS Meteorologist Larry Hopper. Highs and low temperatures through Wednesday in San Antonio will be steady with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s and lows in the 40s and 50s. Record-high temperatures may be seen throughout the city on Wednesday, according to Hopper.

I am moving from Denver to TX but I don't know which town is better: SA or Austin? I am Catholic, but also middle class white. I want racial diversity, active economy and nightlife, safe town and a way to stimulate my life. I need a place Asthma and Allergy friendly.

<p>Officials at Fort Sam Houston say they’ve taken into custody the driver of a vehicle that military officials say contained explosive materials, and which sparked a lockdown at the San Antonio Army base.</p>
<p>The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department said on Twitter that the lockdown was being handled by military police, and the sheriff’s department had no units assigned to the case.</p>

Complete Headline: Saudi National Reportedly Crashes Car Containing Explosives Into US Army Post Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas A driver who rammed his car into the gates of U.S. Army post Fort Sam Houston in Texas is in custody after the ordeal on Sunday. Police have not provided much information about the situation or the suspect, but the military base, which had been placed under lockdown, has returned to normal operations. The suspect has been identified as a male Saudi national, according to KCEN TV. Authorities have not identified the man, but he is in custody. His car...

Federal officials are due to open a huge family detention centre in southern Texas that will house immigrant adults with children while they await deportation. The Texas Observer reports that federal officials are preparing to open the nation’s largest family detention centre, a 2,400-bed facility that will nearly double the current capacity to house immigrant families awaiting deportation. The centre will be developed on a sprawling 50-acre property near the town of Dilley, 70 miles south-west of San Antonio, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told the monthly magazine. :snip: Earlier this year, federal officials opened family detention centres in...

John and Scott have commented on the indictment of Gov. Rick Perry. As they note, it fits a pattern of politically motivated indictments of prominent Texas Republicans. The Perry indictment also fits a pattern of harassment via the legal process of prominent Republican governors: Sarah Palin, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and now Perry. What do these four have in common? Why, they all are (or were) potentially viable candidates for the national office. Invocation of the legal process against Christie may well be warranted. (So too with Bob McDonnell, whom I didn’t include in my list because, although once vaguely...

Ex-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro (Obama appointee to head HUD) refused to agree that members of violent gangs should be deported before they commit crimes while participating in gang activities. “I believe in ensuring that America is free of folks that have committed violent crimes,” Castro, who received national attention as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention, told Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., during the 2013 House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform. “With regard to the hypothetical,” Castro also said, “I readily concede that I’m not in law enforcement, I’m not a technical expert in that regard.” Forbes...

San Antonio - Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and two top lieutenants met recently with several San Antonio officials to discuss the potential of moving his NFL team from the Bay Area to the Alamo City, local leaders involved in the talks confirmed Tuesday.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro faced kid glove treatment from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, Tuesday, with questions mostly focused on what his plans might be and his position on GSE reform should he take over the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The next step is a vote before the committee, which is not scheduled, which would be followed by a vote on the full Senate floor. Castro was tapped by the White House to replaced outgoing HUD secretary Shaun Donovan, despite the fact that Castro has little executive experience and a controversial history mismanaging HUD...

Sen. John Cornyn is the Senate’s No. 2-ranking Republican. But Tuesday morning he preferred the role of No. 1 Texan. Cornyn gave a Lone Star State welcome to Julian Castro, introducing the San Antonio mayor at the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for the post of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. President Barack Obama tapped Castro, a Democrat now serving his third term, on May 23 to oversee the department. Cornyn has said that he does not expect any opposition to Castro’s confirmation, and his move to introduce Castro hints...

President Barrack Obama nominated San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on May 23rd in spite of his city’s alleged misuse of funds from that same federal department. The acceptance of the nomination by Castro marks a departure in the navigational path of this rapidly rising Democrat rising star. The Washington Post reported on May 23rd that this move may signal the Democrats plan to turn Texas blue may be struggling under the leadership of Wendy Davis and Castro now needs to find another pathway to the top of a Democrats future presidential ticket....

The San Antonio Spurs clinched their fifth NBA title in franchise history Sunday night, and the championships have all come since the team drafted Tim Duncan with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. The five titles are the fourth most in NBA behind only the Boston Celtics (17), Los Angeles Lakers (16) and Chicago Bulls (6). Third-year forward Kawhi Leonard won the NBA Finals MVP. The Spurs have the highest winning percentage in major pro sports since 1997 and the team has not won fewer than 60% of its game in any season since drafting Duncan. The...

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs won their fifth NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat 104-87 on Sunday night to win the series in five games. Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who added this title to the ones they won in 1999, 2003, '05 and '07. They nearly had another last year, but couldn't hold off the Heat and lost in seven games. The rematch was no match at all. San Antonio rebounded from an early 16-point deficit by outscoring the Heat 37-13 from the start of the second quarter to midway in...

A video of the remarkable San Antonio Spurs recently went viral on YouTube. It features several minutes of alluring, creative, and unselfish basketball of the sort that companies and teams engaged in all kinds of different pursuits can learn from,Â of the sort that was on full display Tuesday night in the Spurs' convincing win over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.The Spurs are, of course, in the midst of a jaw-dropping 15-year run, and much of the credit for the organizationâ€™s success goes to its leadership, especially its cantankerous yet endearing head coach, Gregg â€śPopâ€ť Popovich,...

Since May 18, the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas has been home to 1,000 illegal immigrant children, according to a report by the San Antonio Express-News. The decision to utilize the base comes as an overwhelming number of young people have been caught crossing the Mexican/U.S. border during recent months. Children and teens brought to Lackland will be provided with education, foster care programs, and "behavioral treatment centers." The projected cost of such programs, as well as the cost of the housing, has not been disclosed to U.S. taxpayers. The federal government was forced to utilize Lackland...

San Antonio failed to properly spend funds approved by Congress to combat the housing crisis while President Barack Obama’s expected nominee to run the Housing and Urban Development Department was mayor of the city, according to a 2012 report from the agency’s inspector general.The report could be a blemish on the record of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, a rising star in the Democratic party whose consideration for a spot in the cabinet is seen as a way to burnish his national political profile.

WASHINGTON — President Obama is preparing to nominate Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio as his new secretary of housing and urban development, elevating one of his party’s Hispanic rising stars as part of a cabinet shuffle that has possible implications for the 2016 presidential race, Democrats informed about the plans said on Saturday. [snip] Some of Mr. Castro’s allies also believe that with income inequality becoming a focal point for Democrats, the HUD job offers the mayor an opportunity to burnish his credentials on issues of poverty and to raise his appeal among those on the party’s left. The...

President Obama on Friday appointed longtime White House aide Kristie Canegallo as deputy chief of staff for policy implementation, to oversee issues that include the continuing rollout of the Affordable Care Act and better integration of technology in classrooms. The move, which comes three days before senior White House health-care adviser Phil Schiliro will step down, aims to institutionalize some of the changes chief of staff Denis McDonough made in the wake of the health-care law’s botched debut last fall. [....] Unlike many of Obama’s top advisers, who came to their jobs through politics, Canegallo started as a civilian Pentagon...

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is about to be tapped by President Barrack Obama to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is the second time Obama will have asked Castro to serve in his administration. The move for Castro comes at a time where a big game of musical chairs is going on in the Obama Cabinet. Castro will be asked to replace HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who is expected to move to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Mayor Julián Castro is expected to leave his third term in office early to become HUD secretary for President Barack Obama. Mayor Julián Castro (center) with his brother, Joaquín Castro, are interviewed in Time Warner Arena as they prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2012.

Hillary Rodham Clinton brings a quarter-century of public service to her potential presidential campaign, but it’s her most recent job as secretary of state for President Obama — overseeing relations with Russia, handling the terrorist attack in Benghazi and negotiating over the war on terrorism — that could come back to haunt her. Many of Mr. Obama’s current political problems also could affect Mrs. Clinton, including the handling of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the decision not to slap the terrorist label on Boko Haram, a group responsible for kidnapping hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls last month. Even the Keystone XL...

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro wants President Barack Obama to give temporary amnesty to illegal immigrants whose family members are U.S. citizens. Castro, considered a potential vice presidential candidate for Democrats in 2016, believes Obama should extend the deferred action even more to those over 30 years of age and who may not have come to the country as children. "We should look at people who have been here for more than ten years, who do not have a serious criminal record and who have family members who are United States citizens," Castro said in an interview before his debate...

Photo: Alma E. Hernandez, For The San Antonio Express News Henry Vichique, shown with his pregnant wife, above, is the 19 year old man who was tased by police for carrying a WWII Russian rifle in a San Antonio residential neighborhood while walking home. From the Houston Chronicle: San Antonio police arrested him March 30 while he was walking home with a loaded Russian World War II-vintage rifle slung across his shoulder. The event occurred after dark. Police at the scene told Henry that people had reported that he had been pointing the rifle at others. Henry replied that...

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police arrested a woman on a murder charge late Thursday after a detective said she deleted call records or text messages while being questioned about a fatal shooting earlier in the day. Sara Mary Clements, 24, eventually admitted to being with Alex Navarro, 22, on Thursday at about 1:30 a.m. and said “police were going to find out about her anyway because of the text messages she had sent” to Navarro, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

It was difficult to miss Ian Jacobson at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Known as Rooster, he was 33, with an ample beard, earrings and a towering orange-and-aqua spiked Mohawk haircut. But he also sported a pinstriped suit, French cuffs and a natty contrast collar. Mr. Jacobson’s sartorial contradictions matched those of his politics: He is among the young Republicans who are pro-free market on fiscal issues and libertarian on social ones. While his views represent a potential growth wing for a party that is losing among other demographic groups, they also show an emerging tension with the older social...

SAN ANTONIO — A man who was attacked after leaving a bar on the Northwest Side early Friday might have been a victim of the knockout game. Cody Robinson, 30, said he had just arrived at his car after leaving the Espańa Bar de Tapas, at 5638 W. Hausman Road, around 2 a.m. when an unidentified man punched him in the face and shouted “knockout.” The knockout game is a random act of violence in which an assailant attempts to knock out a person with one punch. According to the Associated Press, the game has resulted in serious injuries, even...

A Texas ophthalmologist and co-founder of AmericanDoctors4Truth tore down the curtain on Obamacare last week, describing President Obama’s “signature” legislative achievement for the con game of forced labor that it really is. When she wrote to the Aetna insurance company canceling her participation in its offerings, Dr. Kristin Held of San Antonio was informed she is contractually bound to care for the company’s patients for another year — as though Obamacare not only re-configured the American health care system, it repealed the 13th Amendment at the same time. In her letter dated Jan. 30, the long-time and vocal opponent of...

SAN ANTONIO -- One person is in critical condition after a home invasion on the west side. Police say four people tried to break into the home on Merida last night. One of the suspects was shot in the face after the homeowner fired a shotgun. The homeowner told police he was watching television when the men showed up at his door. They were banging on the door, yelling at him to come out.

SAN ANTONIO — A proposed high speed rail between San Antonio and Monterrey is in the works. One lawmaker says it would revolutionize trade and travel between the U.S. and Mexico and pump more tourism dollars into the local economy. On Thursday, Representative Henry Cuellar will meet with the Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx along with state and Mexican officials to discuss the proposed rail system. Instead of paying for a round-trip airline ticket to Monterrey from San Antonio — which can cost at least $400 — Cuellar said a commuter could hop on a high-speed train and travel between...

-adds North Korea 'not that bad...' Celebrity clown and unintelligible drunkard Dennis 'Worm' Rodman arrived today in Pyongyang along with some fellow ex-NBA players he scraped-up (inc. Vin Baker and Cliff Robertson) for an exhibition basketball game- and who better to marshal such an event than an exhibitionist tool who wouldn't dream of doing anything to hurt this latest avenue to attention? The NBA all-stars are set to play the Nork's senior national team on Wednesday, although the original sponsor of Worm's planned exhibition game and DPRK basketball training camp bailed when the Boy King threatened South Korea with annihilation and thew Uncle Jang...

Dennis Rodman said Monday that a game he and other former National Basketball Association players are planning in North Korea will be a "birthday present" for one of their most unlikely fans: leader Kim Jong Un. Rodman's squad —featuring ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker —will play against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday, which is believed to be Kim's birthday. The former NBA players, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, also include Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, guard Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith, who played for the New York Knicks. Four streetballers are also on the...

DALLAS - A San Antonio man says he plans to drop his lawsuit against the city of Athens for putting up a nativity scene in front of the Henderson County courthouse as a Christmas decoration. But he isn't giving up his fight. In short, atheist Patrick Green said it's no longer a fair fight because Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has offered to step in and assist the city or the county. Greene's original suit claims the city is helping fund the display, which is a violation of both state and federal law. But he doesn't believe his suit will...

UPDATE: Here is the response that came from the Attorney General’s office: We will continue to review and monitor the ordinance. I’ve attached the letter sent to Mayor Castro before the vote was taken. The final ordinance did not include the most problematic language, which led to our response: “We are pleased the city council heeded our advice and deleted this provision, which surely would have been grounds for a constitutional challenge to the ordinance. We will continue to review the ordinance and monitor the situation.” I have requested information on what will be monitored, how the AG views this...

Absolute equality is absolute despotism. This statement is becoming truer every moment in which the Sodomite agenda is incessantly advancing over the moral infrastructures, and they are not doing so without destroying lives. Look at the decree that was just passed in San Antonio, TX, which now prohibits all those in political office from being bias toward homosexuals. Homosexuality is not a right, and sodomite marriage is not even recognized in the state of Texas, yet the reprobates are not stopping in their endeavorment to make everyone accept them. Now let me make one thing clear, this bill is not...

The San Antonio City Council approved a non-discrimination bill that will protect new groups from discrimination, but critics charge it will encourage bias against Christians and those who believe in traditional marriage. The council voted 8-3 to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from discrimination. “This ordinance does ensure that everybody in our community is created equally,” Councilman Diego Bernal told MySanAntonio.com.

SAN ANTONIO—Gay rights victories in Texas haven’t come at the Capitol but at city hall. While nondiscrimination bills in the Legislature languish, Houston has a lesbian mayor and Austin offers health benefits for same-sex couples. But in San Antonio, conservatives are pushing back against one proposed stride—an ordinance that’s virtually identical to measures adopted in every other major Texas city. The San Antonio City Council is expected to vote today on amending its nondiscrimination code to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. The local issue has drawn top-line Republican opposition from such heavyweights as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz...

When you add two even numbers and your answer is an odd number, you have to suspect you are wrong. When you conclude the Syrian government launched the sarin gas attack, you get an odd number, you have to wonder why the answer is also odd. Carla Del Ponte., speaking of the first gas attack, told the UN that her investigation revealed concrete suspicions that the rebels had actually launched the attack. “ "Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are...

<p>The three men behind an “open carry” demonstration conducted outside of a San Antonio Starbucks are each facing charges of “disorderly conduct” because some observers reportedly complained about the stunt.</p>
<p>The group posted video of the entire demonstration, which included a disagreement with police officers, on YouTube. The men were seemingly well within their rights.Under Texas law, open carrying a rifle is not illegal as long as the gun is not loaded.</p>

In between bowls of chicken poodle soup and deciding to provide air cover for al-Qaeda in Syria, our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, found time to meet with mayors from our crumbling major cities. From Justin Sink of The Hill: *** "President Obama told a collection of big-city mayors Tuesday at the White House that he would continue to use executive actions to combat gun violence plaguing major cities. In the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and the mayors of 18 cities from across the nation, Obama discussed commonly applicable strategies to reduce youth violence. 'He also vowed to...

SAN ANTONIO - A social justice organization working for equal rights of gay Texans issued a warning on Tuesday. GetEQUAL Texas sent out a travel alert on Tuesday for any lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travelers headed to San Antonio. Mitsue McCoy, a member of GetEQUAL Texas, said they felt the alert was necessary because of the heated meetings at city council over the city's proposed nondiscrimination ordinance and because Councilwoman Elisa Chan has been vocal in her opposition. "We feel like we have a responsibility to let people (who) are coming in to the city, visiting or people that...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it's the summer of 2016. Fresh off her victory in the primaries, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is searching for a running mate. If the 68-year-old Clinton of three years from now were to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein in crafting the politically ideal VP pick, relative youth likely would be a key trait in order to balance the ticket. And, perhaps facing a general election campaign against the first Hispanic presidential or vice-presidential nominee (think Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, or Susana Martinez), she might also...

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it's the summer of 2016. Fresh off her victory in the primaries, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is searching for a running mate. If the 68-year-old Clinton of three years from now were to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein in crafting the politically ideal VP pick, relative youth likely would be a key trait in order to balance the ticket. And, perhaps facing a general election campaign against the first Hispanic presidential or vice-presidential nominee (think Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, or Susana Martinez), she might also look to a Latino...

San Antonio City Councilwoman District 9 Elisa Chan enters a briefing room for a press conference at City Hall, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. In a secret recording by former staff member James Stevens on May 21, Chan condemned homosexuality and described it as "disgusting". At the press conference, Chan reiterated her rights to free speech and personal opinions. "Political correctness will not win this dayĂ‰.I stand strong in my First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech," she said. Â Â GetEQUAL Texas has issued a travel advisory for LGBT people considering visiting San Antonio. â€śGetEQUAL TX alerts those traveling...

In San Antonio, where the mayor is rising Democratic star Julian Castro, a broad new anti-discrimination ordinance under consideration may catch opponents of same-sex marriage in its net, in what opponents consider a disturbing infringement on liberty of conscience. The ordinance would prohibit bias toward people on account of sexual orientation. Opponents are concerned that opposition to same-sex marriage or other viewpoints about homosexuality would be considered bias. “If you, for instance, oppose same-sex marriage, that’s going to be interpreted as opposing someone based on sexual orientation,” explains Jeff Mateer, general counsel for the Liberty Institute, an organization that focuses...

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake jetted to San Antonio, Texas, to deliver a speech last night to the national convention of the Young Democrats of America, a group closely tied to the Democratic National Committee. Rawlings-Blake denounced the Republican Party for its positions on immigration reform and other issues in what was described as “a great keynote speech” on the YDA’s twitter feed. The frequency of the mayor’s absences from Baltimore have accelerated since her appointment in January as secretary of the DNC and her parallel rise within the nonpartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors. Frequent Flyer Since late May, she he has...